As Emily Ulrich, a senior at Hanover high school and prospective member of the Class of 2010, decides whether or not to attend Dartmouth this fall, she has the advantage of factoring her extensive interactions with Dartmouth professors and students into her decision. Ulrich is one of more than 100 local high school students enrolled in at least one Dartmouth course this year through the Special Community Student Program, which lets students from local high schools and full-time employees of the College take one course per term at Dartmouth free of charge.
Eligible high school juniors and seniors are permitted to take only one course per term and a maximum of four courses at Dartmouth so long as they continue to be fully enrolled in their high school program. These students cannot enroll in music instruction, studio art or introductory-level courses in some departments or pre-enroll in classes with enrollment limits.
"No Dartmouth student is ever denied access to a course because a Special Community student is participating in it," said Dan Nelson, administrator of the Special Community Student Program.
The courses most commonly taken by Special Community students are foreign language and mathematics courses. Although some students take courses at the College to get a head start in college credits, many of the students that enroll in courses at Dartmouth do so because of a particularly outstanding talent or passion in an area.
Ulrich is currently taking her second Dartmouth class for credit in the Italian department. After spending her junior year abroad in Italy, she wanted to continue taking Italian, so she turned to Dartmouth.
"Honestly, though, I didn't sign up for these classes because I wanted college recognition," Ulrich said. "I was just interested in something I otherwise would not have been able to study."
Nelson believes that the students admitted to the program are very qualified to do the work. In fact, the grades that high school students receive tend to be on par with those of Dartmouth students. Special Community students are required to maintain a grade of C- or better in each course in order to register for another class.
Psychology professor Cathy Cramer, who also chairs the Committee on Instruction that oversees the Special Community program, said that Dartmouth students benefited on several occasions from the comments of the high school student she taught in her psychology 26 class.
"He is the sort of engaged, attentive student that we all like to have in our classes," Cramer said.
Katia Muratova, a senior at Hanover high school who is currently taking her third course at Dartmouth, said she has never felt that her presence at Dartmouth cheapened the experience of Dartmouth students who pay tuition to attend their classes.
Muratova said that taking courses at Dartmouth is a privilege for her and, unlike some Dartmouth students, she cannot skip class unless she has a good reason.
Ulrich feels similarly about her place in the Dartmouth community.
"So long as high school students put in the necessary work and aren't pretentious about the opportunity of studying at a college level, I don't think our presence detracts," Ulrich said.
The number of high school students involved in the program has grown in the last several years with 67 participating in the 1999-00 school year and 108 students in the program last year.
This increase in students can be partially attributed to the increase in participating schools, with 24 local high schools now eligible to send students to Dartmouth. Not surprisingly Hanover, Hartford and Lebanon high schools, which are closest to the College, send the most students per term to enroll in a Dartmouth course.
Nelson said that this increase in participation may also be the result of high school students trying to prepare for a very competitive college admissions process.
However, he believes that the primary driving factor for the steady increase in high school student enrollment is the reputation of the program.
"Students have such a great experience and find it so beneficial to be engaged in really terrific classes with Dartmouth students and Dartmouth faculty," Nelson said.
The program also allows employees to take classes at Dartmouth and even earn a degree. In addition, spouses of employees can participate in the program, but only at a 50 percent discount on the cost of tuition. All costs are prorated for part-time employees.
Once these Special Community students gain 18 credits from Dartmouth or other credits which the College accepts and fulfill the language requirement, students can apply to matriculate.
While only about 30 employees took courses at Dartmouth over approximately the last ten years, Nelson sees this aspect of the program as equally valuable.
"I think it's a wonderful example of Dartmouth providing access to its employees to the most important thing we do here," Nelson said.
